Younger Drivers Hungry For NASCAR's Big Stage

DAYTONA BEACH | Watch out drivers, the likes of Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon may be closer than they appear.

By CHRIS GRAHAMNEWS-JOURNAL

DAYTONA BEACH | Watch out drivers, the likes of Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon may be closer than they appear.

The stars will align at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to kick off the start of the Sprint Cup Series with the Daytona 500. But as the top tier of racers vie for the championship, other lesser-known names — some whom are racing in the Battle at the Beach that ends tonight — are working their way to set foot on the big stage and to eventually take the jobs of veterans drivers.

"Us young guys, we're hungry and excited and ready to do well," said 20-year-old Larson, who is running in the Nationwide Series this year and will compete in this year's inaugural short track race at New Smyrna Beach. "We're going to be running every lap as hard as we can."

Seen as NASCAR's top prospect, Larson has been behind the wheel of a vehicle ever since he can remember, but the Japanese-American driver didn't even start driving a stock car until last February.

His performance has been astounding, as he participated in more than 100 races last year, more than three times a Sprint Cup Series season's 36 races. His first race in a stock car was at New Smyrna Speedway, where he led the final lap of the race to win.

"It's been a pretty quick road," he said.

Larson would go on to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship with two wins and 12 top-10 finishes in 14 races. He was also the third driver ever to win the championship in his rookie season.

Larson's ability isn't lost on Tony Stewart, to whom the young driver has been compared because of his ability to race on different tracks and in different vehicles without any letdown. The three-time Cup Series champion predicted Larson, who won again at New Smyrna Speedway this week, will be the next big thing.

"You can bet the farm on it," Stewart said at NASCAR Media Day. "I guarantee it. If not, you can take everything I own because I'm that confident."

Larson isn't the only driver waiting in the wings.

Dylan Kwanieski, 17, in 2012 became the youngest champion in the 59 years of the K&N Pro Series West history. The Las Vegas, Nev., teen said many of the smaller, lesser-known tracks aren't as glamorous as the premier NASCAR races, but the more intimate tracks are instrumental in learning racing principles and take the drivers closer to the fans.

"It teaches us grass-roots racing," he said.

Ty and Austin Dillon, who are the grandsons of racing legend Richard Childress, are also helping lead the charge of the youth movement. Austin Dillon in 2011 won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at 22, the youngest to ever do so.

Ty Dillon, who won the rookie of the year in the Camping World Truck Series in 2012, said the different tracks allow drivers to learn new things, but there is always one constant.

"The competition always steps up," he said. "That's one thing that keeps us performing."

Austin Dillon, who will race full time in the Nationwide Series this year, said he should face plenty of tough drivers.

"The competition level is obviously the best in NASCAR. You don't have from first to 15th (to contend with), you have first to 25th, 26th, 27th, all the way back to 30th," he said at NASCAR Media Day. "You can't miss a line, you can't mess up, and you've just got to be very consistent."

Many of the seasoned veterans like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson see the new blood as great for the sport.

Gordon, 41, offered a few tips.

"Work hard, try to get yourself in the best equipment, the safest equipment, race as many different things as you possibly can," he said.

Johnson, 37, said he remembers debuting in the Cup Series in 2002. The five-time season champion said he would gladly welcome more young drivers into the mix.

"At the end of the day, it creates viewership. It creates interest, and there are a lot of cool stories to be told," he said. "I want to have an open mind to it, because I remember walking in here with big eyes looking around, ready for this part of my life to start."